The Queen Anne Revival Style like many of the
larger residential styles that were prominent during the final
decades of the 19th century, was fueled by the wealthy upper middle
classes who through luck and very hard work had managed to make
a success of their new lives in Canada. It was a style meant to
be enjoyed by those who lived within it and those who lived near
it. At the center was a solid family who needed a large, opulent
home where the children could grow into prominence surrounded
by the fruits of their ancestor's labours enjoying a lovely garden,
many spacious and highly ornate living areas, and enough bedrooms
for all the family, guests and servants. Like the Victorian Villa,
the Italian Villa, and the large Romanesque homes, the Queen Anne
Revival style was meant to impress.

Many enthusiasts of architectural styles may not,
at first, see the connection between the Queen Anne Revival and
the Arts and Crafts movement. The fact is that not only were both
rooted in a rekindled interest in the vernacular architecture
of the medieval and Elizabethan periods, but the architects generally
slated into the Arts and Crafts file designed many buildings that
are now considered Queen Anne Revival. Philip Webb is the most
well known of these. It is generally agreed that while there was
a style referred to as Queen Anne Revival in the 1860s, neither
Webb nor his colleagues of similar mind had any definite idea
which category their buildings fit into. The inspiration was to
build according to medieval building principles to return to neighborhoods
and towns that had craftsmanship and community at their hearts.

Queen
Anne in Britain

The Queen Anne Revival Style began in Britain
in the 1860s largely as a reaction to the monumental and/or Gothic
styles that were flourishing in the other "Revivals"
(see Gothic Revival and Classical
Revival). Queen Anne's actual reign was from 1702 to 1714 in Britain.
If Classicism is seen as coming from Italy and Greece, and the
Gothic comes from France and then England and Germany, the Tudor
era and the Stuart, which is revived in this style, can be seen
as the British national style. Developed by the British architect
Richard Shaw (1831-1912), it quickly found acceptance with the
industrialists and wealthy merchants who wanted to express their
optimism and success through this extroverted but quintessentially
British style. Many changes to the style are the result of the
Ontario climate and the use of local materials. Features such
as the expansive verandah and widespread
use of timber are found in Ontario but not in the original English
version. Leslie Maitland's excellent book The Queen Anne Revival
Style offers an in-depth look at the development of the style
from its inception in England to its conclusion at the outset
of the first World War.

Most of the books that deal with the Queen Anne Revival
sidestep the issue of the name fairly quickly. Andrew Saint in
his biography of Richard Norman Shaw addresses the issue thus."
Everyone regrets (and regretted) the inaccuracy and vagueness
of the name given to this bastard offspring." The short version
of the reasons for naming this revival after Queen Anne was that
she was the last of the medieval/Renaissance monarchs, she was
the last of the Tudor/Stuart line. She reigned from 1702 to 1714
and despite seventeen pregnancies she died without leaving a living
heir. She was utterly wicked to the Irish, but then weren't they
all, but she did manage to unite England and Scotland which is
seen by many to be a great thing. Upon her death the throne was
occupied by a series of four Georges, her second cousin being
George I. This was the beginning of the rule of the House of Hanover,
seen by most British people to be the dawn of the modern era and
certainly the beginning of unified residential style referred
to, oddly enough, as Georgian. This balanced, symmetrical style
was everything the new architects were trying to avoid, so the
name of Queen Anne was used simply for lack of anything better
since the Elizabethan and Jacobean styles were already fairly
firmly established.

Click Hotpoints for descriptions of
terms in both text and images.

London
England

Richard Shaw was the man responsible for bringing
the Queen Anne style into popular use in Britain. He was known
as one of the premier Arts and Crafts architects, along with
Philip Webb and Edwin Lutyens, but his work in the suburbs or
London is what is really memorable. He brought suburban living
to the city.

Queen Anne architecture in Britain bears little
resemblance to the Queen Anne found here. A preference for white
painted window sills, fish tail shingles, multi-panes of glass
and simple ornament is indicative of the style.

The Old Swan House has elements of both Queen
Anne and Arts and Crafts.

Old Swan House - London.

London
England

Shaw spent much time during his student years
sketching the great cathedrals of Europe. While there, he also
made a great study of the lesser known treasures surrounding
the works of the great masters and whether by natural inclination
or predestination, these are the ones that were cemented in
his artistic psyche. He drew the small shops, comfortable residences
and small domestic buildings made by uncelebrated craftsman.
He found these modest survivors of the distant past as engaging
as the larger monuments. His interest centered on the qualities
that would later fascinate the Arts and Crafts guys, Frank Lloyd
Wright, H.H. Richardson and the movers and shakers of the early
twentieth century: a respect for the intrinsic beauty of the
materials, a harmony between the building and its surroundings,
and a delight in unexpected ornament.

Shaw's Sketches from the Continent' are
of anything from street scenes in Anger France to lean-tos in
Germany as well as the land mark four star destinations.

One of Shaw's 'Sketches from the Continent' - Anger France

Anger France

This photo of the buildings in the above sketch
was taken in 2008.

Further studies of mantels, staircases, and battlements
had him convinced that the craftsman's attitude towards construction
had immense, if humble, significance. It was the stone masons
who lead the design team in the construction of the great cathedrals,
and it was the woodworkers, masons and vernacular craftsmen
who had developed the residential styles whose charm had stood
the test of time.

Medieval Buildings - Anger France

Queen
Anne in Ontario

Queen Anne style houses in Ontario are similar
to those found in the United States. For obvious reasons,
these large, grand old manors are often used for movie and
TV settings, as can be seen in 'Six Feet Under', Polly Anna,
and pretty much any story that has a few kids and a dog.

Like most residential buildings built at the
turn of the century, the house was meant to contain the
breadwinner and his wife and family, plus any maiden aunts,
down and out cousins, aging parents, and old family retainers.

The Queen Anne style also made room for a wide
variety of servants, needed to keep all the fine woodwork
and brass in shape, and useful for cleaning the chandeliers,
milking the cows and pulling water from the well.

The Queen Anne style always has a verandah,
sometimes wrapping all the way around a house. There are
many small rooms where each member of the household could
find some peace and quite. The style is opulent without
the ornament found in Italianate or Italian villa. The house
often has a tower, but the styling of the tower has no balconettes
or eyebrow window treatments.

An offset of the style found in Canada is the
Stick style of the eastern US.

Queen Anne houses are sometimes referred to
as 'painted ladies' because they are so colourful and full
of lacy details, as can be seen in the examples from Hastings
and Durham.

Brockville

Brockville has an astonishing
amount of really lovely turn of the century homes, many of them
Queen Anne Revival.

This is a textbook Queen Anne with a round turret,
large wrapping verandah, and multiple textures including fishscale
shingles, radiating ornament and clapboard. Gable finishes include
anti-macassar brackets. In fact every surface is adorned with
some sort of white, lacy finish. The owners of this home should
be given an award for upkeep as it is in excellent repair.

A closer look at the front
porch shows the vast quantity of detailing. Many Queen Anne
Revivals are done up in a variety of colours, thus the familiar
name for the style "painted ladies". This one is very
elegant in simple white.

Brockville Ontario

Brockville

Right next door to the
gorgeous white Queen Anne Revival is this lovely stone version
of the same style. It has the signature corner turret
as well as the abundant verandahs - in this case closed in with
multipaned glass.

What distinguishes this from the Italian Villa
and the Victorian Villa is the preference for a Renaissance
or medieval building method. The stone, while banded, is rustic.
The stone lintels in an accent stone are imbedded in the medieval
method. The sills are also quite early as opposed to the more
ornate Victorian versions.

Brockville Ontario

Brockville

This is a detail of a multicoloured
painted porch also found in Brockville.

The arch designs between the pillars on the porch
are unique: horseshoe arches and large Renaissance two centered
arches. The pillar design is interesting with the same bull's
eye pattern found in the moulding detail in Burlington.

In contrast to the Cobourg Queen Anne Revival,
this has no classical detailing on the porch at all.

Brockville Ontario

Brockville

Up on the hill in Brockville
is this excellent example of a Stick style building. The stick
or Eastlake style is taken directly front the European half
timber style buildings illustrated by Richard Norman Shaw in
his "Sketches from the Continent (above).

In half timbered buildings,
the structure of the building is constructed out of very large
timbers, usually large trees cut in half. The cross-bracing
and window bracing are all built into the external structure.
Then the area between the timbers is filled with a mixture of
horse hair, cow manure, lime and other insulating fillers called
"wattle and daub", then the interior and exterior
surface is covered in a brick, stucco or wood water shield for
weather.

In this variation of Queen Anne it is very easy
to see the original medieval inspiration.

Brockville Ontario

Brockville

When people talk about Victorian craftsmanship,
more often than not they are referring to the Queen Anne Revival.
It was certainly in the late Victorian or High Victorian era,
and because it is usually the province of the wealthy who could
afford such things, the craftsmanship in these houses is amongst
the best.

The coffered detailing on the chimney, many coloured
slate roof, and fine woodwork shown here are indicative of the
quality found in the Queen Anne Revival home.

This house has been restored by people who did
an excellent job.

Brockville Ontario

Picton

This beautiful smaller
Queen Anne style house is in good company on the main street
into Picton. Original 'unruined' Georgians, Italianates, and
Arts and Crafts homes can be found along the same street.

There are a few types of Queen Anne style homes,
the larger one has a huge verandah and a turret. This type can
be distinguished by the from facing gambrel gable with the distinctive
half circle decoration found in Burlington and other places.
The front gable is finished with shingles reminiscent of the
shingle style as found in New Hampshire.

Picton Ontario

Picton

Across town this Queen
Anne seems to represent more of the recognized features of Queen
Anne Revival. The central tower on this home seems at first
like an Italian Villa addition, but There is no double arched
window or balconette but rather a roof like that in the gorgeous
Italianate manor ******** in Saint George.

The corner turret on the
verandah, the multiple roof lines, and the lack of any other
Italianate features or detailing places this squarely as a Queen
Anne even though the base of the building is clearly a Victorian
Gable and Bay..

Picton Ontario

Wellington

Another white Queen
Anne can be found in Wellington, about 15 minutes drive from
Picton.

The large verandah and multi-textured surface
are indicative of the style.

Wellington Ontario

Wellington

An interesting phenomenon
is the 'paired Queen Anne's" found here and in Hastings.

Here there is a blue and white next to the solid
white. Most of the detailing is the same but the blue accentuates
some of the detailing. The upper gable is shingled with both
fish scale and plain shingles. The area above the window on
the bay under the gable end have anti-macassar brackets. The
porch is full and inviting.

Wellington Ontario

Wellington

Here is a close up of the
shingle work. Note that the window is created with multi paned
art glass and the owners have been brilliant enough not to ruin
it.

Wellington Ontario

Hastings

Here is another instance
of two buildings, side by side, clearly built by the same contractor
and possibly for the same client.

The corner turret here is octagonal. There is
a prominent second floor balcony, and the entire building is
covered with fish scale shingles, clapboard with naval ornament,
and large amounts of gingerbread.

Hastings Ontario

Hastings

The House next door has
the same trappings but is in red and white instead of yello
and white. The shingles are red, but other details are white.
Notice how the blue and white in the Annapolis Royal illustration
has even more detail pronounced by the paint colour.

Hastings Ontario

Hastings

The second floor balcony
is a nice feature on both houses. The gingerbread - detailing
around the balcony and verandah - is Victorian in nature. Contrast
this with the detailing on the London house below.

Hastings Ontario

Kingston

This example from Kingston
is as lovely inside as outside. It is beautifully maintained,
and is currently a bed and breakfast, so you can see the inside
as well.

The lower level has a verandah
with ornate posts and gingerbread. Opposite this is a
bay window with modillions.
The cornice is large and extravagant.

The light standards and verandah details are exquisite.

Kingston Ontario

Merrickville

This charming bed and breakfast has the same qualities
as the buildings shown above: the corner tower,
the large sweeping verandah, the gables,
and the dormers. In this case the
corner tower is square with half-round windows and an acroterion.

The differences are in the clustered
column supports for the verandah, the oval window, and the
Palladian windows. Also notable are the roof brackets
and the unusually large soffit showing
a classicism not often found in this genre. The property gently
slopes down to a river.

Merrickville Ontario

Merrickville

Like many Queen Anne Revival details, this rounded
verandah, silhouetting a turret, and cantilevered out over the
latticework base is really 'just showing off'. Notice how the
underside of the roof is fully finished< the fascia and trim
are perfect, and the column is intact and in great shape.

Again, this house has been cared for and is a
beautiful example of an opulent house made to be enjoyed and
lived in. The garden is very much a part of the house, it is
a sculpted living space.

Merrickville Ontario

Cobourg

In Cobourg is the ******
house built by *******, owner of the ***** rail company which
made custom rail cars for all the railways in North America.

The Exterior shows a house that was constructed
in stages: the design is not cohesive, it looks like there have
been additions made to the original plan.

Cobourg Ontario

Cobourg

Beside the front door is
a small vestibule or air chamber that provides an air lock between
the outside air and the inside. Notice that this is the same
shape as the windows on the Old Swan designed by Shaw (above).

The woodwork is exquisite and the windows are
all artglass, curved, but still made with leaded panes.

Cobourg Ontario

Cobourg

The main entrance is typical
of a larger Queen Anne house. There is a preeminent staircase
leading to the upper rooms, and there is a stair hall large
enough to receive many guests at a time. This entrance room
often has a fireplace and an inglenook.

In the case of the ******* house, the opening
is curved and frames the stairway as it leads up. A closet and
doorway to the kitchen are made from the same paneled design
as the stairwell itself.

Cobourg Ontario

Cobourg

The treads are wide and
generous. There are three spindles to a tread. The spindles
themselves are turned in an ornate design.

The design beneath the treads on the outer surface
has the same ornate scrolling as an Italianate tread.

Cobourg Ontario

Cobourg

Above the stairwell is
a skylight made from nine panels of art glass. The railing snakes
around from the generous upper landing to the west wing and
then downstairs.

It is rare but not impossible to find this kind
of craftsmanship in a modern house.

If you have a staircase with a missing rail or
spindles, there are many places that may be able to help supply
original pierces taken from other Queen Annes that have been
pulled down for one reason or another. Historic Lumber in Acton
has many railings, spindles and newels ready to be restored
and installed. Legacy in Acton or any of the three Timeless
materials outlets may have them too. See the Resources page
for contact information.

Cobourg Ontario

Cobourg

The carving in the lintels,
above the doors, and around the stairway itself is wonderful.
Various owners who have been lucky enough to live in this house,
have taken good care of the woodwork so it is in great shape.

Cobourg Ontario

Cobourg

The plasterwork in this
house was not as well kept, but the house was lucky. Hal Cooper
and his wife Barb purchased the house tow years ago and Hal
has been tireless in his efforts to restore the plaster to its
original glory.

By the time this place was built, gas was an accepted
form of lighting. Each room in this house has an original gasolier
which has been refurbished to accept electrical lighting. If
you are looking for gasoliers, they can be found occasionally
in auctions or flee markets.

Cobourg Ontario

Cobourg

The advantage to restoring
this type of house is that all the plumbing is usually in. You
may need to replace some bits, but the fixtures are large, sturdy,
and beautifully designed.

To get a period bathroom restored to the original
if someone has 'upgraded' it to a lovely avocado colour during
the 70's, there are many places where period sinks and faucets
occasionally appear. See the Resources page.

Cobourg Ontario

Rednersville

This is a new version of
the Queen Anne style. The original concept is evident, but the
finishes, windows, and detailing are
all new.

The corner turret is
what first catches your eye. It is multicoloured and topped
with a pepper pot roof. The lower section
of the turret has a lovely circular verandah.

On the front façade,
the doorway is relatively small and has a starburst pediment
design. Above this is a window with a triangular
arch. The starburst pattern is copied onto the gable
above the second floor porch.

Rednersville Ontario

Durham

Queen Anne homes are often called "Painted
Ladies" because of the bright colours and feminine look.

Durham Ontario

Queen
Anne Revival in Central Ontario

Queen Anne Revival buildings are easier to find
in smaller towns and villages such as Brockville and cobourg
because they were usually built a few blocks from the commercial
center of town. As towns grew, these properties were taken
down and

replaced by high rise apartments and large commercial
buildings, but there are still some lovely ones left. Many
are B and B's and small Inns.

Bowmanville

Not all Queen Anne Revival buildings are large
and turreted. The style is also seen
in smaller buildings that simply have an eclectic mixture of
influences and details.

This house in Bowmanville is an inventive mixture
of many periods. It has an extremely rare keyhole arch
on the front portico. This portico
has a large cornice and cornice
brackets with iron cresting. The
second storey has two pairs of round-headed arches on very high
windows. The top gable has a heavy Palladian
window with an exaggerated keystone set
on a background of fish scale shingles.
The gable is decorated with vergeboarding
and held in place by cornice brackets. It is truly extraordinary.

Bowmanville Ontario

Niagara
Falls

This Queen Anne Revival building has a verandah
that runs around two sides of the building. This verandah is
likely to be used frequently as it overlooks the escarpment
by Niagara Falls. Unlike modern surveys and cul-de-sacs where
most trees or natural contours of the land are bulldozed out
of existence, the 19th century builder took advantage of the
natural setting, and the results are spectacular.

The massing of this highly
decorated house on the Niagara Parkway is more squared than
most Queen Anne Revivals of the 'corner turret' variety, but
it clearly has the massing of a Queen Anne.

The turret extends up from
the first floor bay window and terminates above the roof. The
gable on the other side extends past the central massing of
the building a provides a lovely covered balcony on the second
floor accessed by French Doors. This is a charming feature.
Loads of banding and gingerbread give the house a more Victorian
look than is found on Queen Anne's in Eastern Ontario.

Niagara Parkway Ontario

Kitchener

The sweeping
two sided verandahs of large Queen Anne Revival buildings all
look better on a corner lot. This one is no exception.

The beauty
of this house is in the black and white detailing contrasting
with the red brick. The cornice has
alternating bands of white and black that tie the building together.
A corner square turret has the same
cornice detailing. The square verandah
has a white spindle design and white posts. The
gables all have white vergeboarding
and white lattice design under the eaves. The roofline is varied
and punctuated.

Not too
far from the house in Kitchener above is another Queen Anne
revival with the same colour scheme. This is a gable front version,
and quite different from the first example, but notice that
there is a large verandah, a dormer and a turret. There are
certainly similarities with the first one.

Kitchener Ontario

Kitchener

Another
Queen Anne Revival in the same area of Kitchener has the same
colour scheme but two very large verandahs and a double gable
front. The red brick used would have been local brick. Where
the Victorian Gable and Bay design makes good use of dichromatic
brick, the Queen Anne instead mixes brick with wood trim and
shingles for an entirely different effect.

Note the half-round circle in
the upper gable, a design motif found often in Queen Anne Revivals.

Kitchener Ontario

Kitchener

The last
and final example from Kitchener is very different from the
above, and from a different area of town. It is a Gable and
Bay done in the yellow brick from the Western side of the city,
which has the hood mold and trim of the Victorian period. The
upper dormer finished in shingles and the large verandah are
the Queen Anne elements, and you could say that this house has
been "Queen Anned". It is likely that these additions
were not original. The lattice on the second floor also fits
more into a Queen Anne mold than the Victorian.

Kitchener Ontario

Toronto

The ground floor of this building is rusticated
while the rest is of smooth red brick. The lintels
and sills are also rusticated, and on
the tower and the bay
window, a continuous band of rough
stone continues this motif.

There is a bow window and a large gabled
bay. The roof is punctuated by a wide variety of chimneys.
There is a corner tower as well as a
large open turret with a pepper pot
roof.

This building is typical of urban Queen Anne Revival
in that there is an assortment of window types, roof extensions,
and detailing to add interest, but no large verandah or landscaping
so that it fits within the city block.

Toronto Ontario

Hamilton

In contrast to the building above, this building
has a wide verandah that sweeps around
the two street façades. The
corner tower, the hallmark of the Queen
Anne Revival house, sits atop a rounded section of the verandah.
There is a tall, conical, roof with fish
scale shingles and an acroterion.
The rest of the house radiates away from the tower.

The roof is interrupted by several gables
and dormers, all with wood molding,
carved brackets, and tympanum
designs; the top most gable has a star burst pattern. The
windows are quite plain, but the glass in the tower is curved.
Under the windows is a rusticated
sill band that stretches around the building.

Hamilton Ontario

Duplessis House 1890 Hamilton

This is a smaller version of the Queen Anne style
with no central tower and a small but lovely front verandah
that wraps around the side. The plan is asymmetrical using the
two storey bay, typical of the late-Victorian period.

The exterior finish is a mixture of clapboard
on the main floor and upper bay, and fish scale shingles on
the gable and upper floor over the porch.

The front verandah uses a mixture of straight
and radiating spindles with a frieze of disks along the top.

Wood work of this quality is often found on Queen
Anne buildings, but it is rare to find a building that has been
maintained and preserved with such care.

Hamilton Ontario

Hamilton

The staircase is a central focus an obvious subject
for decoration. This staircase and the balcony above are beautifully
conceived and expertly executed. The design is composed of pierced
solids. The geometric designs are cut into a flat solid, the
voids become the design.

The newel is carved in a wonderful downward tapered
design capped with dentils and an elliptical newel.

Hamilton Ontario

Hamilton

The second floor landing has a pattern of pierced
solids similar to that of the staircase handrail.

Hamilton Ontario

Hamilton

Some of the windows, such as this one, are composed
of a leaded diamond pattern on the lower sash and an arrangement
of opaque coloured squares on the upper.

In contrast to the ornate decoration on the verandah
and stairwell, the window surround is substantial and traditional.

Unlike many Queen Annes where two sides of the
building are plain, "Queen Anne in front and Mary Anne
in the rear" (Maitland), there are half-timbered
gables on all sides and a porch
with Ionic columns and a simple architrave
on the rear of the building. Like of the many grand buildings
in Perth, this is built from local stone.

Perth Ontario

Queen
Anne Revival in Western Ontario

Queen Anne Revival buildings are easier to find
in smaller towns and villages such as Brockville and cobourg
because they were usually built a few blocks from the commercial
center of town. As towns grew, these properties were taken
down and

replaced by high rise apartments and large commercial
buildings, but there are still some lovely ones left. Many
are B and B's and small Inns.

London

For anyone who has done a study of Ontario architecture,
this building is very obviously from the London area. First
it has the light yellow brick of Harrisburg and west. More important
for pin pointing the location, however, is the decoration on
the gables. Where the Queen Anne, Victorian or Second Empire,
this type of detailing was made by a group of people who either
had similar training or were from the same company: London is
full of this really exquisite craftsmanship that is very different
from that of other parts of the province.

The turret on the verandah is a "tour de
force".

London Ontario

Thunder
Bay

Clearly this house has one of the most extraordinary
verandahs in the world. The large
circular shape takes up most of the lower level façade,
spanning from the center of one Palladian
window to the other. Sturdy balusters
and simple columns support the large
domed roof.

On the second and third floor are a variety of
dormers, eyebrow windows, gables,
and other openings on an undulating roofline.

There is a central bay
window above the verandah that is flanked by two windows
with differing but similarly noteworthy keystones.

Thunder Bay Ontario

Woodstock

Like most of the historic architecture in Woodstock,
this is a classic example of the style, in this case Queen Anne
Revival, and it is beautifully maintained. The turret is in
the front of the building, not off to the side as it often is,
and it is flanked by two extra large porches. There is a lovely
open balcony on the third floor inside the turret. The first
floor is rusticated, the upper two floors are of lovely red
brick.

Like most brick or stone Queen Anne's, the surface
texture is minimal, but there is an offset material that is
nicely balanced.

Woodstock Ontario

Fergus

This really interesting
example from Fergus is a building that is made up of a tower
that takes up about half of the footprint of the house. In fact
it is more a rotunda than a tower. Decorated gables open up
the top floor of the tower, and a large curtained verandah leads
to the very elegant front doors.

Notice how all of the brick Queen Anne Revival
buildings have a pronounced lintel that is either of stone or
of contrasting brick. This flat, rather plain lintel is characteristic
of the style.

Fergus Ontario

Queen
Anne Revival in the East

Queen Anne Revival is found all along the eastern
seaboard of the United States as well as in Canada's Atlantic
Provinces. These are large, stately homes built with the
money made from shipping, retail, and manufacturing money.

In Canada and the US on the east coast these
are largely wooden or shingles. It is rare to find a brick
Queen Anne in the east.

Annapolis Royal

As in Hastings as well as Wellington - above -
these two buildings in Annapolis Royal are side by side.

The decoration on the turrets is as fine as any
cabinet making. There verandah with its rounded corner is an
inviting element, meant to be enjoyed as an outdoor room.

The decoration above the window on the second
floor is pressed wood, typical of the style and age. The method
of manufacturing is the same as pressed back chairs.

Annapolis Royal Nova Scotia

Annapolis

Comparing these two styles
you get a real feel for the elements of the style. A lot of
the design depends on colour. The yellow version of this house
is lovely, but while there is a garage added on the left, the
building looks a lot different simply because of the colour.
The pressed wood decorations are the same, but here they are
more pronounced. The darker roof is also notable.

If this building where painted in one colour,
the effect would be much different.

Annapolis Royal Nova Scotia

Annapolis Royal

Here is a close up of another turret in Annapolis
Royal. Again the craftsmanship is astonishing. The shingles
are carefully applied so that they sweep around the turret.
The band above the first floor windows is a solid and graceful
piece of molding that echos the cornice of the first floor.
The windows are outlined in burgundy, a colour that makes the
window 'pop out' at you but does not draw attention to itself.

Originally the windows on the third floor of the
turret would have been curved like the ones on the second floor.
With all our advanced technical knowledge, computers, and scientific
methods, we still can't make curved glass the way they did 130
years ago. It's pathetic really.

Annapolis Royal Nova Scotia

New Hampshire

Here is a home from an
old neighborhood five blocks from Yale University. It is a lovely
mixture of elements: leaded glass windows, fieldstone, lamb's
tongue brackets, and an interesting use of medieval jettys.
Notice how the window on the lower level is extended beyond
the main face of the building by eight inches or so. So is the
gable in the center. These are medieval jettys.

The gable has three extraordinary windows. The
lower has baskets for flowers. The upper is recessed. The whole,
very large, gable is finished in cedar shingles.